Senga named new AFP chief

Army commander Lt. Gen. Generoso Senga was named the new Armed Forces chief yesterday by President Arroyo.

His appointment will take effect on Aug. 15, according to Malacañang.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said Gen. Efren Abu, who was supposed to retire yesterday upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56, would serve as head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) "in the meantime" to ensure a smooth transition of military leadership.

Maj. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Special Operations Command chief, will succeed Senga as Army commander, he added.

The military said Abu was given a slightly extended tour because of the prevailing political situation.

Anti-Arroyo portesters marched in Manila yesterday, calling on Arroyo to quit over allegations of massive electoral fraud.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said a turnover ceremony for the new Armed Forces chief might not be feasible as troops and police have been on red alert since early this week and this status was likely to continue in the coming days.

"We have obtained information that there is a plot to cause civil disturbance so we might as well let the hot air pass," he said in Filipino.

"Just imagine that while we are celebrating the turnover at Camp Aguinaldo, there are protesters marching in the streets," he said.

Security was tightened yesterday in Malacañang, with platoons of policemen and Special Action Force troops posted along streets leading to the Palace.

Senga first served as platoon leader under the Army’s 27th Infantry Battalion at the height of the war against the Moro National

Liberation Front, which signed a peace pact with the government in 1996.

Senga, a member of Philippine Military Academy Class ’72, was wounded in a skirmish in Mindanao and received a wounded personnel medal.

He was then named Combat Research and Historical Branch chief at the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, assistant group commander of the 11th Civil Relations Group, and later as commander of the Army’s 59th Infantry Battalion.

Senga also served as Intelligence Research and Analysis Division chief at the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, operations officer of the Northern Luzon Command, and Nolcom chief of staff.

Senga was also named assistant Army chief of staff for operations, Army Counter-Terrorist Group commander, and Army 701st Brigade commander.

When Gen. Angelo Reyes was Armed Forces chief, Senga was named the AFP spokesman and he was put on the spot over the military leadership’s withdrawal of support from President Estrada on Jan. 19, 2001.

After EDSA II, Senga was named Army chief of staff and later the AFP deputy chief of staff for Civil Military Operations, before moving on to head the Army’s 6th Infantry Division based in Awang, Maguindanao, where he personally supervised the assault and capture of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front stronghold at Buliok complex in Central Mindanao.

Senga was later named Armed Forces Southern Command chief, where he led a number of campaigns against MILF renegades, Abu Sayyaf terrorists and other lawless elements.

A holder of a master’s degree in business administration from the Ateneo de Manila University, Senga had military schooling both here and abroad, including the Infantry Officers’ Course and Civil Officers’ Course which he took at the US Army Infantry School in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Senga also finished the Combined Strategic Intelligence Training Program at the US Defense Intelligence College, Intelligence and Security Course from the Ministry of Defense in the United Kingdom, International Program at the Galilee College in Nazareth, Israel, and East Asia Security Program from the Hawaii-based US Pacific Command.

Born July 21, 1950, Senga has received numerous medals, including eight distinguished service medals, two bronze cross medals, 17 military merit medals, and a wounded personnel medal.

Esperon, a member of PMA Class ’74, started his military career as a platoon leader under the Army’s 23rd Infantry Battalion which operated in Lamitan, Basilan.

During the time of President Fidel Ramos, he was the PSG deputy commander and later Presidential Escorts chief.

During the Estrada administration, Esperon was AFP Joint Operations Center chief.

He also served as the Army assistant chief of staff for operations.

Esperon served with the Army’s 602nd Brigade in Carmen, North Cotabato, 103rd Brigade in Basilan and 7th Infantry Division, and as AFP deputy chief of staff for operations.

In November last year, Mrs. Arroyo placed under Esperon’s operational control the Scout Rangers and Special Forces regiment, and the Light Reaction Battalion.

Esperon received the Presidential Medal of Merit from President Ramos for distinguished service to the Republic, two Philippine Legion of Honor medals, eight Distinguished Service Stars, four Gold Cross medals and six Bronze Cross medals.

A holder of a master’s degree in management from the Philippine Christian University, Esperon, a native of Asingan, Pangasinan had studied in military schools here and abroad, including the Integrated Service Attaché Course at the Foreign Service Institute.

Esperon also served as AFP deputy chief of staff for operations, Presidential Security Group commander, and the Army’s 602nd and 103rd Infantry Brigade commander based in Central and Western Mindanao, and 7th Infantry Division commander based in Nueva Ecija. — Paolo Romero, Jaime Laude